The municipal charter sets the compensation of elected town leaders and outlines the structure of the new local government. This structure helps reduce the need for additional expenditure and encourages a smaller administration size. Elected town leaders agree on and approve the budget each year, and it can be designed to keep the government size small. Elected town leaders are responsible for holding to the government lite model, and this is typically accomplished by working to keep the budget limited in scope and size. Town residents choose these leaders and can hold them accountable by public pressure, the right to recall elected officials, initiative, and referendum.

Municipalities have access to additional revenue sources such as grants and state-shared revenues. These funds allow towns to accomplish many things without raising additional revenue or with significant reductions in costs.

Government lite municipalities cost significantly less because service costs (police, fire, water, sewer, etc.) are much lower than in a full-service city. The lower cost corresponds to lower taxes. They also significantly reduce the need for salaried employees and thereby eliminate most of the traditional legacy costs such as retirements and pensions. These legacy costs are what invariably cause long-term issues for municipalities with high employee counts. The proposed municipal charter contains a provision limiting how fast the employee headcount can grow.

In every regard, the government lite model does a much better job at reducing both short-term and long-term costs when compared to their full-service municipal counterparts. Reducing costs is what, in the end, keeps taxes low.